How to Convert an AutoCAD Drawing so that it can be imported into Topcon SurveyMaster.
Importing an AutoCAD drawing into Topcon SurveyMaster, or any other survey software is not always straight forward, and can give error messages that are not very helpful. I know, I have been struggling with this in the past but have recently developed a solution to this problem and will show you the steps to overcome this hurdle.
First of all, I will try to import the AutoCAD file into the Topcon SurveyMaster Software:
Once I have clicked open, the following error message appears:
This error message doesn’t give any information.
So to get around this problem we need to work with the AutoCAD file, as that is where the problem resides.
For this you will need to have a copy of Autodesk DWG TrueView which is currently freely available to download from their website. Link: http://www.autodesk.com/products/dwg/viewers
Once you have installed TrueView you can open the AutoCAD file and view the drawing as below:
Now you can start the conversion process that is in the TrueView programme.
Press the DWG Convert button in the top left hand corner.
You need to open the file that you want to convert. This is done by pressing the button highlighted in the picture below.
Then you will need to navigate to the drawing you want to convert.
Once you have selected the drawing you want to convert, you should have a box that looks like the below.
You now need to select your conversion type. To do this select the Conversion Setups… button. You should then see the below box.
Select one the most appropriate Conversion Setups and then click on the Modify button. You should then have the box below. The important part here is to select the File Format box and ensure that you select a format with Exploded AEC Objects
You can also select where you want the converted DWG to be stored.
Now click OK in the above box.
You should now be back at the conversion box and you can now press CONVERT.
The conversion process will take a couple of seconds to complete (depending on your computer and the file size). Click on the CLOSE button and then you will see the below box to which you can if you wish save the current list of files.
You should now be able to import the AutoCAD Drawing into your survey software as can be seen below.
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